Hungarian Politics

[The Brain]

Is it as bad as it sounds Tamas?

Yes, see above.

I am resigned to the fact that we are on a quick road to either default, or a sudden drastical drop in government spending, both which will lead to nazi rule.

Will it be good Nazis like Goebbels or bad Nazis like Himmler and Hess?

[Tamas]

Is it as bad as it sounds Tamas?

Yes, see above.

I am resigned to the fact that we are on a quick road to either default, or a sudden drastical drop in government spending, both which will lead to nazi rule.

Will it be good Nazis like Goebbels or bad Nazis like Himmler and Hess?

Well we have conformist nazis in suits who have their private army of skinheads on the side, and we have nazis who do stuff like putting up town name displays in "ancient Hungarian runes" and do a weird mix of paganist fetishry and Christianity, and all other sorts of lunacy which would make most Tea Baggers in the States look positively sane.

[Martinus]

The Economist blogged on this:

Democracy in Hungary
Slip-sliding away

Dec 19th 2011, 17:47 by A.L.B | BUDAPEST

GYÖRGY MATOLCSY, Hungary's economy minister, wanted a war with the International Monetary Fund, and now he has got one.

Officials from the fund and the European Union have broken off preliminary talks with the Hungarian government over a financial safety net for the country. Why? Because the parliament, where the ruling Fidesz party has a two-thirds majority, has accelerated plans to change the management of the central bank and to expand membership of the monetary council, which sets interest rates.

MPs are also considering a new rule to fix tax and debt policies within the constitution. As a "cardinal law" it would require a two-thirds majority to change, thus limiting future governments' room for manoeuvre.

The new legislation could "undermine the independence of the central bank", said Amadeo Altafaj-Tardio, the EU's monetary-affairs spokesman. The IMF echoed these sentiments, stating that an independent central bank is "one of the cornerstones of sound economic management".

The planned law would allow the prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to nominate a third vice-governor to the board of the central bank. At the same time Fidesz MPs have proposed merging the central bank with the financial regulator to create a new body.

András Simor, the central-bank governor, described the proposed third vice-governor as a "political commissar" and said the new laws were a step on the road to the "final elimination" of the bank's independence. Government supporters point out that Ferenc Gyurcsany, the former Socialist prime minister, also interfered with the running of the bank and enlarged the monetary council.

Mr Matolcsy, meanwhile, is unbowed. He told Hír TV, a pro-government channel, that the government will continue to push the law through parliament, although he said the opinions of the European Central Bank would be taken into account. There is no reason, he says, to fear for the independence of the central bank. Negotiations will resume in January.

Fidesz allies have now been appointed to the presidency, the State Audit Office, the State Prosecutor, the National Media Authority, the new fiscal council and the new National Courts Authority, among others. Officials say that party backgrounds are irrelevant and that office-holders will exercise their mandates independently. Democracy in Hungary, they claim, is safe.

Opposition politicians, international watchdogs, the EU and the United States disagree. They argue that the government's attempt to limit the independence of the central bank near-completes Fidesz's steady undermining of Hungary's formerly independent institutions and its removal of the checks and balances found in most European democracies.

An overwhelming victory at the polls, which Fidesz won last year, does not, say Western officials, give the party a mandate for a long-term (the new appointees will hold office for between nine and 12 years) takeover of legislative and executive functions. Government officials have not explained why it seems that only Fidesz allies can be trusted to exercise their mandates independently.

Party leaders struggled to account for the abrupt departure of the IMF-EU delegation last week. János Lázár, head of the Fidesz parliamentary grouping, hit on one possible explanation. It would be perfectly understandable, he said, if officials "wanted to go home for Christmas and wait for little Jesus there, rather than in Budapest".

Wags in the capital joke that the Hungarian legislative process works as follows. The prime minister has an idea in the morning, Mr Matolcsy announces it as policy in the afternoon, by the end of the week Mr Lázár is piloting it through parliament and it becomes law on Monday. An exaggeration, to be sure, but not by much.

Is it as bad as it sounds Tamas?

Wow what a shithole. The only concern is that it paints the whole region with a negative brush.

[Martinus]

Is it as bad as it sounds Tamas?

Yes, see above.

I am resigned to the fact that we are on a quick road to either default, or a sudden drastical drop in government spending, both which will lead to nazi rule.

Will it be good Nazis like Goebbels or bad Nazis like Himmler and Hess?

Well we have conformist nazis in suits who have their private army of skinheads on the side, and we have nazis who do stuff like putting up town name displays in "ancient Hungarian runes" and do a weird mix of paganist fetishry and Christianity, and all other sorts of lunacy which would make most Tea Baggers in the States look positively sane.

What the fuck happened with Hungarians? I thought you people were smarter.

[Tamas]

Is it as bad as it sounds Tamas?

Yes, see above.

I am resigned to the fact that we are on a quick road to either default, or a sudden drastical drop in government spending, both which will lead to nazi rule.

Will it be good Nazis like Goebbels or bad Nazis like Himmler and Hess?

Well we have conformist nazis in suits who have their private army of skinheads on the side, and we have nazis who do stuff like putting up town name displays in "ancient Hungarian runes" and do a weird mix of paganist fetishry and Christianity, and all other sorts of lunacy which would make most Tea Baggers in the States look positively sane.

What the fuck happened with Hungarians? I thought you people were smarter.

meh. That's what happened.

Latest polls show that the number of people who would not vote in the elections if they were tomorrow is staggering, but of those would surely go and vote, Jobbik (the nazis) have 25%
So if people still cared for politics, they would be nothing more than a fringe minority. But apathy and general depression about the future is just about complete, so just like the Tea Party or the Occupiers, they can make a lot of noise by being the only really active political force on the population's level.

[Tamas]

This week was a new record in the law-making blitzkrieg Sheilb's article mentioned. They managed to put on schedule for today a bill without a name  They only named it last evening. (it's about them churches).

Speaking of the church-law, it shows how closely the Constitutional Court and the government works together now: out of the blue, the previous version of this law was cancelled, a day or two before the Const. Court filed several complaints about it.

Also today, the nationalization of the tobacco trade will take place - 20 or 30 years concessions will have to be bought from the state if you will want to sell tobacco products. Good thing, this guildification worked very well for Greece on the long run, as I hear.
The nominal reason for this is of course to PROTECT TEH CHILDREN, but the new law containing the nationalization has ZERO new rules regarding minors, compared to the previous law regulating tobacco sale.

yay!

[Tamas]

Oh, and nationalization:
couple of weeks ago, the state announced a very generous buying offer on the stocks of a big (and quite successful) Hungarian company which produces trucks and other construction and industrial machinery, called Raba.
No clear explanation on why state ownership of this private company is necessary, but for a hefty sum of taxpayer money, the state now controls it.

[Martinus]

Oh, and nationalization:
couple of weeks ago, the state announced a very generous buying offer on the stocks of a big (and quite successful) Hungarian company which produces trucks and other construction and industrial machinery, called Raba.
No clear explanation on why state ownership of this private company is necessary, but for a hefty sum of taxpayer money, the state now controls it.

Duh. They need trucks to be able to ship all the Jews, gypsies and homos to the camps. Railroads are not what they used to be in the golden era.

[Neil]

Oh, and nationalization:
couple of weeks ago, the state announced a very generous buying offer on the stocks of a big (and quite successful) Hungarian company which produces trucks and other construction and industrial machinery, called Raba.
No clear explanation on why state ownership of this private company is necessary, but for a hefty sum of taxpayer money, the state now controls it.

Duh. They need trucks to be able to ship all the Jews, gypsies and homos to the camps. Railroads are not what they used to be in the golden era.

Maybe they'll ship you, too?

[HVC]

Seriously a pole playing the concentration camp card? Half of poland was on the waiting list hoping to get a chance to help the nazi's out.

[Tamas]

An other day in new revolutionarized Hungary:

-some important votes today: finalization of the pension-nationalization, nationalization of the shop-on-mobile systems (srsly), and the "stabilization act" with various stuff included which pissed the EU off
-our PM answered Barroso that the critisized laws WILL be enacted as they are "integral ammendments" to the new constitution which will go live 1st of January
-the hyspter green LMP party held a protest, by chanining themselves to the parking entrance of Parlaiment. Our former socialist PM Gyurcsany managed to hack the event by appearing there, before the police decided to just arrest the lot, including him. Later they were released

[CountDeMoney]

I'm so glad we have this thread.

[Admiral Yi]

-the hyspter green LMP party

Hipster gypsies? 

[Tamas]

I'm so glad we have this thread.

I am sorry, but I'll keep reporting this Monty Python act we call a government

Let us, for example, see the good patriotic work done by the christian-democractic wing of the ruling "parties" today (the christian-democracts are a virtual party maintained for who knows why by FIDESZ, but probably to maximize parlaimentary seat gains in elections):

Law on families:
The family is "not primarily a biological, but a social construct", and the "basic buildingstone" of Hungarian society. It consist of a husband, a wife, and children, but "cross-generational" relationships between grandparents and children are also important.
Subsidies for families will not be based on wealth, but will be granted universally. Media outlets will have to "respect the institution of marriage" in their broadcasts. From this time on, due to this law, children will be abided by law to "perform according to their talent" in school, and "avoid endangering their own health".

Law on the national flag and heraldry:
There will be a National Heraldry Committee which will review the local heraldries of counties, cities, and towns for correctness. International fairs and events will have to have the cultural minsiter's permission to show the national flag, same goes for showing it on products. Private citizens are free to wave it around to "show their national identity" however.

[Tamas]

-the hyspter green LMP party

Hipster gypsies?